Client spotlight update: 40 lb. weight loss!

We are so inspired by our awesome client Amanda & she has continued to lose weight since we originally posted her story. In fact, she's lost 40 lbs. and 29.5 inches total in a year!!

She says: "I feel so much better after I take a DS class, and that's what has kept me motivated. I feel so much more energized, even after a long workday. I've realized that I am so much less stressed than I used to be, and I do think it's because I've been able to incorporate the classes into my everyday life. I'm in the best shape of my LIFE! I have never in my life been this fit. I feel fantastic!" Way to go Amanda!

Original post by Crystal Zuzek February 2014:

Dancers Shape client Amanda Kopp lost 20 pounds in four months — quite the fitness feat for a clinical trainer at Austin Regional Clinic who says the “stress and pressure” of her job took a “huge toll” on her physical and mental well-being.

“It was really the way I felt that inspired me to get in shape,” she says. “I realized my attitude changed drastically after I took a class at Dancers Shape. I felt happy and energized. I made the decision to feel like that more often and started taking four to five classes per week.”

As her fitness level improved with time, so did her energy and her attitude. “The rest just fell into place,” says Kopp, who started taking Dancers Shape classes about a year ago. During that time, she shed more than 19 inches from her body.

The journey wasn’t easy for Kopp, who says happy hours and trips to local breweries had become a routine part of her social life.

“Aside from foam rolling my newly developed quads, the most challenging aspect of this journey has been to balance my work and social life and still manage to keep up with my fitness goals,” she says, adding that she has learned to control her meal portion sizes and drinks much more water.

To lose weight and build muscle in a healthy, sustainable way, Kopp did the following:

In January, she wore a heart rate monitor to record calories burned per class.

She logged the calories she consumed and burned in the MyFitnessPal application.

She input her body measurements and calories burned per class in an Excel spreadsheet to keep her on track.

With her renewed energy level, she started taking longer walks with her little dog, Bond.

To help Kopp increase her flexibility, she incorporated a 20-minute yoga session into her workout regimen every other day.

She slowly altered her eating habits by making healthier choices like cutting out soda and reducing her alcohol and caffeine intake.

“The biggest change I’ve noticed in myself is absolutely, 100 percent, my attitude. My confidence is miles higher than it has ever been because I rise to these challenges and keep moving toward positive changes in my life. I’m just happier, and for that I am sincerely grateful to Dancers Shape,” Kopp says.

About the Guest Blogger: Crystal Zuzek

Crystal Zuzek is an Austin-based writer with more than a decade of experience in the journalism industry. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism in the magazine sequence. In her free time, she enjoys sewing, going to movies and concerts, and spending time with her husband, Patrick, and her dachshund mix, Saffron.